


Alleviate

by xMorsmordr3



Series: Ache Alleviate and Soothe [2]
Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Bay Movies), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Heartbreak, Hurt/Comfort, Longing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 16:54:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24290140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xMorsmordr3/pseuds/xMorsmordr3
Summary: ‘I’ve died. I’ve died and this is my hell.’A sequel to Ache
Relationships: April O'Neil/Raphael (TMNT), Leonardo (TMNT)/Reader, Leonardo (TMNT)/You, Raphael (TMNT)/Reader, Raphael (TMNT)/You
Series: Ache Alleviate and Soothe [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1753543
Comments: 2
Kudos: 44





	Alleviate

You’d played the dutiful best friend perfectly. No one had seen the immense pain that hid locked behind your glassy stare. You’d managed to explain away any sorrow as happiness for your best friend. Him finally finding the love of his life just made you ‘overly emotional’.

“Don’t worry Y/N! I’m sure you’ll find your soulmate soon!” Donnie said beaming. He pushed his glasses up and hurried back towards his brothers. His words lingered behind and insidiously curled themselves over your insides before digging their claws into your heart. You gasped at the assault. It wasn’t Donnie’s fault. You had no one to blame for this except yourself. Maybe if you hadn’t been such a coward you could be in April’s place right now. 

You sighed, running a hand limply over your chest before settling yourself against the cool brick wall of the sewer lair. 

‘I’ve died. I’ve died and this is my hell.’ 

You don’t know how long you stood there, staring without seeing, wallowing in your misery before a firm warm hand pressed itself against your shoulder. Your stomach didn’t erupt in tingles so you knew it wasn’t him. No he was too busy being happy with his bride to notice you right now. 

You looked feebly up into a pair of cool blue eyes and gave a tired smile. 

“Hey you ok?” The fearless leader asked, those blue eyes filled with concern. You gave a dry chuckle and nodded. 

“Yea just tired I guess. Didn’t know wedding planning was so exhausting.” He returned your smile and wrapped his arm around you. 

“Yea. I’m glad it’s over. Raph was more of a bridezilla than April was.” The noise you made wasn’t expected. It was a perfect combination of a laugh and a sob. It caught you both off guard. And before you knew it you were sobbing into Leo’s shoulder. 

He froze, not entirely sure what to do so he let you get it all out while awkwardly patting your back. After a few minutes you sat up angrily swiping at your eyes. Makeup be damned!

“Sooo I take it you’re not ok with this?” You gave him a shrug in response. Gently he took your hand and led you to his room, you offered no resistance. He quietly shut the door and rounded on you. 

“Why didn’t you tell him before??”His voice coming out in a harsh hiss. You shrugged again, the impact of the day had just started to fully become reality and the weight of it was crushing your insides. He sighed, his face full of pity. You couldn’t stand to see it. 

“It’s fine, Leo. I’m happy as long as he-“

“That’s bullshit and you know it.” 

You let out a barking chuckle and settled yourself into the edge of his bed. 

“Yea, I’ve been full to the brim with shit lately but there’s nothing I can do about that now.” You states matter-of-factly. Leo sat next to you and tenderly wrapped his arm around your shoulders, you leaned into the touch, it felt as if some of your sadness was being absorbed into his warm skin. 

“Want me to talk to him.” You rolled your eyes.

“It’s way to late for that now. He’s got the girl of his dreams. I just need to get over it.” You whispered as you interwove your arms around his waist. “I’ll be fine. And honestly a small part of me is really happy that he’s happy...it just..”

“It sucks that it’s not you making him happy.” He finished with a small squeeze to your arm. You nodded in response and sunk deeper into him. “Why didn’t you say anything before?” 

“I...I just wasn’t ready. And the day that I finally had built up enough courage to actually tell him...” You paused to angrily swipe away an escaped tear. You let out a dry laugh. “I feel so stupid! I can’t believe I’m letting myself act like this over something that’s my fault!” 

Leo wrapped his arm tighter around you and shook his head.

“I know this hurts now, but I promise you, you will find someone that loves you more than you can ever imagine.” His voice was calm as ever and helped to still the tumultuous waves of despair that was dancing inside of you. “I love my brother but if he couldn’t see how much you loved him and how perfect you are then he didn’t deserve you.” You scoffed. 

“I’m far from perfect Leo. If you wanna see perfect, go out to the living room and you’ll see her in her dress.”Your response elicited a roll of his eyes. 

“Yea, she’s pretty. And that’s about it. She’s a mediocre journalist, and full of herself. If Raphael and Mikey didn’t act like she was some kind of goddess I doubt she’d ever come down here.” You snapped your head up to look into his eyes, the shock of hearing the Leader saying this was too much. 

“Are you being serious right now? I thought you liked her.”He shrugged, his arm still hanging lazily off your shoulders, while his fingers absentmindedly drew patterns along your skin. 

“She’s has her moments, but when I compare her to you I just don’t see how Raph could have ever chose her. You’re the only one that has ever truly treated us with real kindness and respect. Sometimes I get the feeling that April thinks we’re a charity project, but with you it feels like we’re normal.” 

His words stunned you into silence. Hearing the way he talked about you had ignited a small spark of happiness, it’s feeble warmth trying to valiantly fight against the icy wall of your heart. You gave him a gentle squeeze around his waist and sighed. 

“Honestly Leo, being here with you makes me feel normal. I never felt like I fit in anywhere and when I’m down here...everything just clicks into place.” You drew back and stared fiercely into his eyes, your hand coming to lightly rest against his cheek. “I’m sorry she makes you feel that way, but I promise I never will. We’re family.” 

He gave you a small smile and pulled you into a bone crushing hug. Your mutual dislike for April had given you some small reprieve from your heartbreak. The knowledge that at least one of your favorite terrapins shared that view had been the boost you needed to finish the night. You stayed close to Leo, your new found bond was your bouy. 

* * *

“Did you really mean what you said?” You asked the giant shadow that sat next to you. The wedding was over and You and Leo were sat huddled in a forgotten corner of the lair. He gave you a quizzical look, his invisible eyebrows furrowed in confusion. You smiled and looked down atthe length of your dress. 

“Why wouldn’t I have meant it?” His voice was low, almost slurred. You weren’t sure from what. You shrugged, and pulled a piece of string from the hem.

“I just...I don’t know how the hell you could think that about me, but he couldn’t.” Tentatively you looked over your shoulder. He was still too wrapped up in joy to pay you any mind. Your heart dove into the pit of your stomach. 

“I wouldn’t have said it if it wasn’t true.” He leaned forward his hand coming up to sit under your chin. “You wanna get away from them for a second?” You nodded almost imperceptibly and for the second time that night Leo led you to his room. 

You walked past the rest of the brothers, Master Splinter and a few other lingerers, all eyes on April. You were invisible to everyone except Leo, you squeezed his hand for reassurance. 

You collapsed on his bed, your red slip dress fanning out dramatically. 

“Thank you Leo.” You whispered pitifully as he sank onto the bed next to you. 

“For what?” He asked as his arms snaked themselves around you. You sank deeper into him and closed your eyes. 

“For noticing me. “

* * *

  
He let you stay like that for what seemed like hours, letting the sadness of the day seep from your body into his. He knew all too well how you were feeling. Having to watch you fall in love with his brother had been unbearable, and having to watch you suffer over his relationship with April had been even worse. It had taken every ounce of his willpower to not grab you by your hips and try to make you see that you belonged with him. He knew that would have only made things worse, and so he waited. He watched from the shadows as you shuffled through as a shell of your former self. For a while he had hated that his brother was so blind to the fact of what he was doing to you. He wanted to knock some sense into him, but he couldn’t deny that seeing Raphael so happy had kept him from doing just that. And if he was being honest he liked that now he might have a chance to have you all too himself. He snuck a glance at your tear streaked face and felt a flash of guilt.

Gently he rubbed his strong fingers along your back, every so often he would stop and apply firm pressure to the stress knots that littered your muscles. You sighed in contentment, his ministrations putting you truly at ease for the first time in months. You closed your eyes and drifted off to a deep and dreamless sleep. 


End file.
